


Day 6: 'Take my strength' Day

by ninwrites



Series: Malec Week 2K16 [6]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Love, M/M, Malec Week, Malec Week 2016, Married In Gold, Nervousness, Pep talks, Romantic Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Love, Wedding Rings, Weddings, family love, so much love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7800508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninwrites/pseuds/ninwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Use this Quote from the books and the show to write/draw a new scene or change the POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day 6: 'Take my strength' Day

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR COHF/BTEN/TFSA/LM/ TID. SET POST-LM. Literally spoilers for everything I'm so sorry if you haven't read them.
> 
> Bit of shade towards Australia for still not legalising marriage equality yet...

Magnus has never once, in his long, immortal lifespan of four centuries, been married.

More than that, no one has ever wanted to marry _him._

Which is totally fine and certainly never something that haunted him, nor did it keep him up at night, wondering what was wrong with him, that no one had ever wanted to pledge their life to him.

Even once Alec Lightwood had come around, even after everything they've been through, the possibility that they would ever get married, simply wasn't believable.

For he is a Downworlder, and Alec a Shadowhunter; though unions are not uncommon between the two, they are not official in the eyes of the Clave, and quite frankly, are of little difference to the mundane's civil unions - the legal technicalities are all rewarded, but without the offical title of 'husband' or 'wife'.

But now, things are different. Now, they can get married the way Magnus wants them to.

In gold.

 

* * *

 

"You're freaking out."

"Oh, wow, I didn't realise. Thank you for pointing it out." Alec says sarcastically, raking his hand through his hair.

Isabelle glares. "Stop freaking out."

"Yes, because it's that easy." Alec clicks his fingers. "Look at that, I'm suddenly not freaking out anymore."

Isabelle breathes in slowly, and then back out again. "Don't tempt me, Alec Lightwood. I don't want to hit you on your wedding day, but I will do it if I have to."

Alec sighs, looking at his sister apologetically. "I'm sorry. But I can't just stop freaking out. This is _my wedding day,_ Isabelle, I never thought I'd have this day. I think I'm allowed to be a little nervous."

"You and Magnus have already adopted two beautiful kids. If you can survive doing that, then you'll get through today just fine."

Alec smiles, subconsciously, as thoughts of his little family enters his mind. _His_ little family. He almost can't believe it, after so many years of thinking that he'd never have that - that he'd never have kids, never fall in love with someone he could see himself having a family with.

By the Angel, he'd never thought he'd be here, getting _married_ to someone.

"I never thought I'd get here." Alec admits, quietly. "I never ... and yet here I am, and it kind of feels like the past - the last _seven years_ \- has all rushed up on me at once."

"I know." Isabelle smiles encouragingly. "But you have. And that is what matters."

She twists the thin silver band on the third finger of her own left hand, the middle of it deep-set with a ruby, two shining diamonds on either side.

"Does it feel weird?" Alec asks quietly. He resists the urge to glance at his watch, as he doesn't really want to know how long he has left.

"Being married?" Isabelle asks. Alec nods, sheepishly - he doesn't know how to explain that, it's not that he _doesn't want_ to marry Magnus, he's wanted little else so badly, it's just that - it's new and different, and he thought he'd gotten over all the obstacles in life years ago. Yet here's another one, trying to knock him over and he's - he's scared.

"At first. But not for the reasons you might think. Everything remains pretty much the same, now it's just that - oh, there's a ring on my finger that has signifigance and importance and, hey, you're not my boyfriend now, you're my husband."

Isabelle shrugs a shoulder, almost philosophically. "It's the little changes to things that you really notice."

Alec hums, considering Isabelle's words. "I suppose I could handle that. It's not really, a big deal then, hey?"

"It is," Isabelle shrugs. "And it isn't. It's as big of a deal as you make it. If you want it to be really important and something to focus on, then make it that. If you want it to just be a fact, that you and Magnus are married, then make it that. Only you can determine what your relationship means to you, and that still counts once you've slid the rings onto each others fingers."

Alec glances down at his hand, at the finger that in a few hours will be weighed down with a significant band. No, not weighed down. Adorned.

Adorned by the band that will clarify to the world that he and Magnus are bound together, for life.

"How far away is Jace?" Alec asks. His _parabatai_ was supposed to have arrived already with the suits. Isabelle's dress is hanging on the door, waiting for her to be ready.

"He shouldn't be too far," Isabelle says, grinning at her brother's burst of confidence. She resists the urge to pull him in for a hug, partly because they don't have the time, and partly because she doesn't want to embarrass him - at least, not yet.

"You can start getting ready now, if you want." Alec smiles, fondly. "I don't want you to be rushing at all."

Isabelle grins sharply. "Oh please, the wedding wouldn't start without me."

She leans in and kisses her brother's cheek, looking at him for a moment before she steps back. Neither of them speak, though enough words pass between them in the silence.

A silence that screams loudly now that the gravity of the situation is settling down on Alec's shoulders.

 

* * *

 

"I must admit, I never thought I would see you on your wedding day."

Magnus catches Catarina's gaze in the reflection of the vanity mirror. "And yet, here I am."

Catarina shuts the door behind herself, careful not to trap her dress. The fabric is soft and silky, a smooth cream that compliments her bright blue skin tone and stark white hair. She's threaded small flowers into a crown atop her head, matching the bouquet she'll carry down the aisle.

"Are you nervous?" She asks, crossing the room to stand behind Magnus' chair.

He shrugs one shoulder, feigning nonchalance. "I feel like I should be." He leans closer to the mirror, eyeing the creases of his forehead, attempting to determine how much makeup he should use.

"Don't lie to me, Magnus Bane. I've known you longer than most other people."

Catarina drags a chair over and positions it in front of Magnus. "Turn." She instructs, spinning her pointer finger.

Magnus breathes out exaggeratedly and turns to face Catarina. Truth be told, he's freaking out internally, badly, but he wants to maintain an air of calm and collectiveness because he is a four hundred-year-old warlock who should be better at life by this point.

Catarina picks up a brush and a pot of foundation. "Talk to me."

Magnus pulls back his fringe and holds it with one hand. "I shouldn't be nervous, Cat. I don't - I've been waiting to do this for so long, it's not like it's a new idea."

Catarina purses her mouth, and nods slightly, encouraging him to continue.

"I love Alec, and I know that I want to marry him, that he's the only one I want to marry-"

And there it is, the reason behind his convoluted mess of emotions. Catarina doesn't even flinch, although there's no doubt she came to the same conclusion before he did. She gently brushes the foundation onto his cheeks, her movements careful and precise, soothing, even.

"He's the only one I've ever wanted to marry." Magnus whispers.

Catarina's mouth quirks into a slight smile. "Close your eyes." She instructs, sweeping the brush across Magnus' closed eyelids. She leans back, studying him curiously.

"Has the thought never occured to you before?" She asks, not unkindly.

"It has," Magnus admits, blinking a few times now his eyes are open. "But I guess it just never seemed like the big, important matter it does now. In all my years I've never been married, because no one ever wanted to marry me."

"But Alec does." Catarina idly peruses the contents of the vanity table before picking up a small gold eyeshadow pot and a thinner brush.

"For some, inexplicable reason, yes." Magnus says.

He's joking, for the most part. He knows why Alec wants to marry him - for the same reason that Magnus wants to marry Alec. But he's nervous, which he hates, and so he's attempting to disguise it. He's fully aware, of course, that humour is not a viable defence mechanism, but he's using it anyway.

Catarina lifts the brush and Magnus closes his eyes again. It's been a while since he and Catarina have done this, a very long while. "Is it just that you're getting married, or something else?"

Magnus reminds himself not to frown. "I don't - I don't believe so. It's the same, anxiety, as when we adopted Max, or Rafe. That this is something I've never done before and I'm worried that, somehow, I'll mess it up."

"I highly doubt you will mess this up," Catarina assures him. "If you can look after two children and still want to do this, then marriage will be a breeze, for the two of you."

"I hope you're right." Magnus says, thinking of his sons, their sons, a few rooms over, getting fitted into their suits by their Aunt Clary.

"I am." Catarina promises, smoothing the shimmering eyeshadow along Magnus' lid. "As always."

Magnus huffs out a breathy laugh, and slowly, he feels his anxiety melting away. It's still there, of course, and if he tries to he can feel it, but it isn't at the surface anymore. It's stopped being the only thing he can feel, and has instead become a duller, less important sense that he easily be ignored.

It's heavily overtaken by the elated joy at the fact that he is about to wed the love of his life in less than two hours.

 

* * *

 

The hall is wide and long, with flooded rows of white seats and stone columns with flowers and ribbons wrapped around them along the walls. There's no specific side for either Magnus or Alec, and the first few rows are filled with close friends and family who are not in the wedding procession.

Lily, Maia, Luke and Jocelyn, Simon and Clary, even Robert and Maryse, with genuine smiles on their faces - they've both done a fair job of moving past their own prejudices in the years - Aline and Helen, who are working on gaining a pardon from the Clave to move back to Los Angeles, and the rest of the extended-Blackthorn clan, to name a few.

Behind the rows of friends and family, and people both Magnus and Alec genuinely like, are the official members of the Clave who are their to confirm the validity of the marriage in the eyes _of_ the Clave. Both Alec, and surprisingly Magnus, would prefer to have a small event with only friends and family, but they've worked too hard to get to this point to simply dismiss the Clave's insistence to view.

They've both worked far too hard to get to this point to ruin it all now. Which Alec tries to remind himself as he waits at the start of the aisle, looking up the lane towards the alter, where Jace, Catarina, and Jem, previously known as Brother Zachariah, are waiting with blinding smiles.

(One of Magnus' conditions had been that the ceremony be conducted by Jem, on account of the fact that he had, until recently, been a Silent Brother, and Magnus trusted a friend to do it more than someone the Clave randomly chose.)

The planning of this wedding had taken months of extenuous - and for Alec, excruciating - planning sessions and inspiration-boards and cake testing and Clave-convincing, but now it had all come together and there was no more 'when' in reference to the wedding. It was just _now._

"You can do this," Isabelle whispers in his ear, her hand squeezing his elbow gently. "All you have to do, is walk to Jace. That's it."

"Walk to Jace," Alec nods. "And then get married."

Isabelle's forehead creases slightly and Alec finds himself laughing, softly. "I'm fine, Isabelle, really."

Isabelle's eyes narrow, and Alec knows that in a less visible situation, she'd be sticking her tongue out at him. As it is, he's kind of glad she can't.

"Now let's go, before we stall the whole proceeding." Alec jokes, inclining his head towards the end of the aisle.

This time Isabelle glares, but it holds barely any heat and they both know she doesn't mean it.

"Get ready to sign your life away, brother dear." Isabelle whispers. Then the music starts, and she tugs on his elbow, encouraging him forward.

Alec easily falls into step behind her, glancing at the spot where he will stand, and the spot where Magnus will soon walk up to.

"Gladly."

 

* * *

 

"I remember both your weddings."

Tessa smiles sweetly. Magnus and herself are waiting for their cue to walk down the aisle, and she can tell that he's a little nervous, just as she can tell that he's talking about her to distract himself. Which she completely understands.

"Yes, well, it did take Jem and I an embarrasingly long time to even get to the aisle, didn't it?" She jokes. She had, in fact, promised herself to Jem before she had to Will, but certain things got in the way of that.

"You got there in the end," Magnus replies. "And that is what really matters."

"As did you, my friend." Tessa says. Magnus looks over at her and smiles, the secret, honest one that is not from the High Warlock of Brooklyn but _Magnus_ , one of her oldest and dearest friends.

"I suppose this has been a long time coming," He whispers.

"I don't think so. I think it's just taken some time to find the right person," Tessa shrugs a shoulder delicately. "And after that, the time that felt appropriate for the two of you to make the next move."

"Everything has it's time and place," Magnus chants, echoing an old sentiment.

Tessa nods. "Precisely."

The doors open, and they can both hear the soft notes of Canon in D by Pachelbel, a composition Magnus had been the first to hear, way back in the late 17th century.

He breathes in, as deeply as he can, and nods hesitantly. "That's my cue."

 

* * *

 

"I have no desire to ramble on about these two or their relationship or the wonder that is marriage." Jem smiles, with the amusement of being in on a joke that few others understand.

"There will no doubt be plenty of time for that at the reception. This moment is about Magnus and Alec promising themselves to each other, and therefore I shall leave it to them."

He nods towards Magnus, and smiles encouragingly. Magnus smiles too, his a little shakier, and turns to face Alec. He glances at Jace, and Isabelle who are both smiling brightly, before his eyes fall on Alec, and like usual, everything else falls away. When Alec smiles, a little nervous and a little excited, Magnus feels his nerves dispel into thin air as though they don't even matter - because they don't.

Because Alec is here, and they're doing this together, and that is all that matters, all that ever has, even from the beginning.

"Forgive me if I'm bad at this," He begins. "But I've never had to write vows before, I'm a little inexperienced."

There's a low thrum of laughter that settles around the room, and Alec's smile widens, a little firmer.

"Alexander Lightwood." Magnus states. "Where do I start? We met, through chance, at a party through an invitation I still cannot recall handing out, because one of the greatest threats to our kind had risen from the metaphorical grave. I thought you were sweet, but hopelessly shy, and on a whim I off-handedly requested you 'call me'. Not my best pick-up line I'll admit. But it worked."

Alec smiles patiently as they both reminisce on the rocky-start of their relationship.

"A lot happened that year, some good, a fair bit bad. I held you through the passing of your brother, and later on you held me as I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I had lost two dear friends in the space of six months."

Both their smiles dim, and Magnus takes a second to glance at the front row, where his friends would be sitting had they been alive. It's been years, and he has moved on, but it's still tough to remember all that had been and all that no longer was.

"We both made mistakes, and we've both learned from them and moved on. You moved in, and our lives entertwined themselves without much effort from either of us. You enabled the help of Downworlder representatives to better the relationship between our two races, a feat that had never before been done. Even when you were looked down on by your own kind, you never faltered, and you stuck to who you are in spite of them."

Magnus reaches out and takes both of Alec's hands in his, squeezing them gently. "Every day, I fall further and further in love with you, with the little things you do, the little steps you take in moulding the world around you into a better world, one you would be proud of, a world our children can be happy in."

He takes in a deep breath, as Alec squeezes back. "There's a very good reason why this is the first time I have never been married. Quite simply, I hadn't found the right person. Until I met you."

Magnus can feel tears beginning to prick at his eyes, and he hastily blinks them back.

"I, Magnus Bane, pledge to you all of my love, every single part of my soul. I vow to give you anything you'll ever want, because you have already given me everything I've ever wanted."

There's an erruption of cheers and light clapping, and Magnus takes a moment to let it sweep over him, attempting to control his emotions, at least so that he appears composed.

Thankfully, Alec appears to be tearing up too, so at least Magnus isn't alone in being an emotional wreck.

Alec laughs, a little shakily, as he tries to solidify his voice. "Thanks for setting the bar so low."

Magnus grins, reminding himself it would be inappropriate - and breaking tradition - to kiss Alec right now, despite how desperately he wants to.

Alec breathes out, still smiling, and prepares himself for his own set of marginally less-eloquent vows. "It's no secret to anyone, that I'm not the best with words, or with my own emotions. But, for today - for you - I've tried my best, on both accounts."

Magnus tries to convey his thoughts through a smile, tries to convey _'thank you'_ and so much more in a simple grin.

He wouldn't be surprised if Alec understood.

"I've said it to you before, and I will no doubt say it again. You were my first _everything_ , and I have never once wished for that to be any different. Even in our darkest moments, I didn't regret what we'd shared, and I can still guarantee that I wouldn't swap the bad for anything, because it all moulded our relationship and lead us up this point."

Alec's forehead creases slightly, a darker look crossing his eyes. He's still smiling brightly, but Magnus can sense the change in tone about to come.

"There was a fair point in my life, where I pushed down who I really was because I was scared. I lived in crippling denial because it was safer, and even once we started dating I let it affect me, and as a result it affected you. But you helped me through that, and thanks to you I'm comfortable in who I am - everyone else be damned."

The sunny brightness returns, full-force, and Magnus is still - even now - almost winded by the sight.

"And now we've got two beautiful boys and we're getting married - and some days I wake up and it still feels like a dream, because everything feels _too perfect_ \- yet even if I do wake up tomorrow, seventeen years-old and still painfully closeted, then at least I'd have the remnants of a wonderful dream where I've managed to get everything I've ever wanted."

Alec blinks, and then his eyes are on Magnus, and it's just the two of them, in their own special moment.

"I, Alec Lightwood, pledge to _you_ everything I have to offer. I vow to spend the rest of my life granting you whatever you need, as you have given me more than I have ever asked or wished for. You are forever allowed to take my strength, as you always give _me_ the strength that I need."

A few beats of hushed silence passed, and then - like the sudden popping of a balloon - sound returns to them both through the loud cheers of friends and family alike. Alec breaks out into an ear-splitting grin, and for a moment, looks almost like he's about to lean in and kiss Magnus.

Unfortunately, for both of them, Jem interrupts before either can move.

"Can the rings please be brought forward, to symbolise the official union between these two lovely men."

Magnus spares a glance at Jem, an expression of a hundred emotions, before he turns back, just as the ring-bearers step up.

On the red plush cushion in Rafael's hand sits Alec's ring to Magnus, and on the matching cushion in Max's hand, the ring from Magnus to Alec.

They hand the rings over, both trying their hardest to remain calm and collected. As soon as the rings are in the hands of their parents, the two boys turn to each other with matching, barely disguisable grins, as they return to their places.

Alec takes Magnus' hand in his first, sliding the ring onto the third finger of the warlock's left hand. The band is silver, twined around an Alexandrite gem, sparkling from green to red and back again under the light.

Magnus grins at the sight of the ring, the slight ostentatiousness very him, but the colour itself a surprising mix of both him and Alec.

Next is Magnus' ring to Alec, which gets slid on rather smoothly, although on the inside Magnus is trembling like an autumn leaf. The band is gold, smooth, with a stone of jade inset into the center, and two Actinolite Cat's Eye gems on either side.

"That leaves little for me to say." Jem announces, once the rings have been slid on.

"From my powers as a former Silent Brother and a fellow Shadowhunter, I Jem Carstairs - previously Brother Zachariah - hereby announce the official wedded union of one Magnus Bane and one Alexander Lightwood, in the eyes of everyone gathered here today, in the eyes of mundanes and of Downworld and the Clave alike. May their future be filled with the happiness they both deserve, and may the Angel Raziel smile upon this union the way he would any other."

The applause is deafening, but neither Alec or Magnus are privy to the sound. They are both too concerned with clutching grips and gentle mouths, the elation and ecstasy at the knowledge that they are husbands, legally binded in the eyes of the Clave the way they've wanted to be for so long.

In their shimmering gold suits, with their new rings and the heart-pumping applause of everyone around them - marriage has never felt like such a good idea.

**Author's Note:**

> this was in part, written by my dog zeus who decided it would be a good idea to trample over my keyboard and 'help'. aren't puppies fun.
> 
> [magnus' ring](http://yourbirthstones.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Synthetic-Alexandrite.jpg)
> 
> [Actinolite Cat's Eye](http://www.ajsgem.com/sites/default/files/ajs/styles/product-node/public/actinolite-cats-eye-00014.jpg)
> 
> [Wedding Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvNQLJ1_HQ0)
> 
> i don't want to ruin the overwhelming fluff of this fic by ranting about how ridiculous my country is (however don't be surprised if a ranting post appears on [my tumblr](http://killjoyrow.tumblr.com/) because I have feelings and opinions)
> 
> {ps I'm posting all these on my new [writing blog](http://malteser24.tumblr.com/)...}
> 
> {if any of the links don't work just let me know :D }


End file.
